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Book Chapters

Browse more than 5,500 book chapters authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.

Filter Total Items: 6053

Geochemical studies of the Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado: I. Major, minor, and trace elements

The Eocene Green River Formation contains the largest oil shale deposits in the world and is a welldocumented example of a lacustrine depositional system. In addition, mineral resources associated with oil shale in the Piceance Basin nahcolite [NaHCO3] and dawsonite [NaAl(CO3)(OH)2)] are of current and potential economic value, respectively. Detailed geochemical analysis across the basin can aid i
Authors
Jeremy Boak, Tengfei Wu, Justin E. Birdwell

Geoelectric constraints on the Precambrian assembly and architecture of southern Laurentia

Using images from an updated and expanded three-dimensional electrical conductivity synthesis model for the contiguous United States (CONUS), we highlight the key continent-scale geoelectric structures that are associated with the Precambrian assembly of southern Laurentia. Conductivity anomalies are associated with the Trans-Hudson orogen, the Penokean suture, the ca. 1.8–1.7 Ga Cheyenne belt and
Authors
Benjamin Scott Murphy, Paul A. Bedrosian, Anna Kelbert

Butler’s Gartersnake, Thamnophis butleri (Cope 1889)

No abstract available.
Authors
Eric Thomas Hileman, Danielle R. Bradke

Massasauga, Sistrurus catenatus (Rafinesque 1818)

No abstract available.
Authors
Richard S. King, Robert W. Hay, Billie C. Harrison, Eric Thomas Hileman, Craig S. Berg

Management of diseases in free-ranging wildlife populations

Diseases are increasingly threatening the conservation of wildlife species. Spillover of pathogens into humans and domestic animals may negatively impact public health and the economy, requiring increased proactive management actions. The North American Wildlife Management Model provides the philosophical basis for managing wildlife and underpins all management options. Diseases in wildlife pop
Authors
Mark L. Drew, Jonathan M. Sleeman

Seismic monitoring solutions for buildings

This chapter introduces seismic monitoring of structural systems for buildings and begins with a historical background of this topic in the United States. After providing the historical context, the chapter reviews common seismic instrumentation issues such as utilization of data, code versus extensive instrumentation, free-field instrumentation, record synchronization requirements and more. Recen
Authors
Mehmet Çelebi, Yavuz Kaya

Subaerial volcaniclastic deposits — Influences of initiation mechanisms and transport behaviour on characteristics and distributions

Subaerial volcaniclastic deposits are produced principally by volcanic debris avalanches, pyroclastic density currents, lahars, and tephra falls. Those deposits have widely ranging geomorphic and sedimentologic characteristics; they can mantle, modify, or create new topography, and their emplacement and subsequent reworking can have an outsized impact on the geomorphic and sedimentologic responses
Authors
Jon J. Major

Antibiotic resistance in free-ranging wildlife

In this chapter, we provide an overview of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria in wildlife through the presentation of general trends of occurrence among both captive and free-ranging wild animal populations, discussion of importance to human health and wildlife conservation, and identification of priority areas for future research and monitoring efforts. Once most commonly identified in human
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Christina Ahlstrom

Miocene terrestrial paleoclimates inferred from pollen in the Monterey Formation, Naples Coastal Bluffs section, California

We present here a comprehensive record of Miocene terrestrial ecosystems from exposures of the Monterey Formation along the Naples coastal bluffs, west of Santa Barbara, California. Constrained by an updated chronology, pollen analyses of 28 samples deposited between 18 and 6 Ma reflect the demise of mesophytic taxa that grew in a warm, wet environment during the late early and early middle Miocen
Authors
Linda E. Heusser, John A. Barron, Gregg Blake, Jon Nichols

Using in situ/ex situ research collaborations to support polar bear conservation

A warming Arctic threatens the long-term persistence of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the wild. Historically, little collaboration existed between the in situ and ex situ polar bear scientific communities. However, for the past decade, zoo professionals, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) have partnered to leverage resources and expertise with the goal of addressing
Authors
Randi Meyerson, Todd C. Atwood

GeoAI and the future of spatial analytics

This chapter discusses the challenges of traditional spatial analytical methods in their limited capacity to handle big and messy data, as well as mining unknown or latent patterns. It then introduces a new form of spatial analytics—geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI)—and describes the advantages of this new strategy in big data analytics and data-driven discovery. Finally, a convergent spa
Authors
Wenwen Li, Samantha Arundel

Biofilms in the Critical Zone: Distribution and mediation of processes

Microbial biofilms occur in all levels of the Critical Zone (CZ); they are on and in the vegetation, throughout the soil-saprolite zone, and along fractures in deep subsurface. Here we discuss biofilms in each level of the CZ with a focus in the soil-saprolite continuum. We show how scanning electron microscope (SEM) images provide an appropriate scale to explore microbe mineral interactions in th
Authors
Marjorie S. Schulz, Kristen L. Manies